ABSTRACT
Sexual behavior has a long history of emotionally charged social and cultural expectations, rules, taboos, myths, and misconceptions. “Normal” versus “dysfunctional” or “deviant” sexual behaviors are socially constructed, determined arbitrarily, and are tied to the social norms of a particular time and place. Despite social changes over time, a major thread that runs through the history of the conceptualization of sexual behaviors and dysfunctions is the alternating emphasis on psychology and biology, as if they were mutually exclusive. Sexual dysfunctions typically manifest anatomically, implicating a wide range of vascular and related medical, neurological, and anatomical conditions, as well as biochemical factors. Neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, play a role in sexual functioning, a finding that is supported by animal and human research as well as by the sexual side effects of relevant medications.
